


don't let go // g+m  [ au ]

by izsmoak



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 06:39:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11307816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izsmoak/pseuds/izsmoak
Summary: what if beth greene took noah's place in season five? if he'd been the one shot at grady memorial hospital?[ alternate universe ]





	don't let go // g+m  [ au ]

**Author's Note:**

> this is an au basically, where instead of beth getting shot at grady memorial it was noah. so beth is still alive, and this takes place in 5x14 when glenn, tara, eugene, nicholas, aiden, and noah go out on that run to replace the broken equipment for the solar panels. Instead of noah going, it's beth. storyline follows closely to that episode. vv angsty + stuff.

 

_**don't let go part one** _

_glenn and maggie_

___________

 

 

The youngest Greene watched the ripples forming in the pond nearby, as she was rocking slowly on the swing in the early hours of morning. Her pen wrote along the lines of notebook paper, and she squinted as she put all her thoughts into words.  
Writing. It's what helped her settle down and take everything in. Back at the prison, she did that everyday. It was more of a journal than a diary, meant to document everything. Anything.

  
Meanwhile, her older sister lay in her new room, while Glenn was already beginning the day.  
"Babe," Maggie groaned, rolling over to see her husband, tugging on a shirt and buttoning it up slowly.  
She waited a moment for him to look over at her and acknowledge her call, but he didn't.  
"Hey,"

"Yeah?" he finally answered, snapping his head up like he'd been deep in thought about something.

"You there, Glenn?"

"What? U-uh, yeah. What's up, Mags?" Glenn asked, pulling up his shirt sleeves.

"Nothin', just checkin' up on ya. Seem a little distant?"

"Nah, just a little worried for today, s'all. Not to say I'm not gonna be as safe and carful as possible, and I promise you that. I promised you that last night too, didn't I?" he said with a smirk.

"I promise, I won't let anything happen. I promise, baby," Glenn'd whispered huskily as he'd begun to unbutton her jeans, kissing her lips and pushing her into the bed more as he set a faster pace to his movements.

"Yeah," Maggie bit her lip, "but... that was yesterday. You still keepin' that promise?"

"Of course," Glenn shrugged, moving closer to the mattress again where his beautiful spouse laid, "I promise,"

"That's an awful lot of promises," she grinned, sitting up on the edge of the bed as he made his way to stand in between her legs.

"Well, I promise I'll keep all of 'em, okay?"

"Okay. Promise?"

"Yep," he smiled, leaning into her and connecting their mouths in a tender kiss.  
He couldn't help but notice how she ducked her head down and sighed heavily as they came apart.  
"What is it? Is it about Beth?"

Maggie nodded, gazing back up at him with her green eyes.

"Hey. Like I said, I'm gonna be as cautious as I can. I'm gonna protect her, but, you know it's not like she can't protect herself, too. She might have to be the one saving my ass," Glenn assured his wife, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and softly rubbing the smooth skin at her cheek with his thumb.

"I know, it's just... it doesn't feel right. I should be there," she frowned.

"They need you here, baby. You could go, but it's better to look after things in Alexandria. 'Member, we've got our own room now. Our own bed," he said, sitting down next to her, "and that's all 'cause of this place. We owe it to Deanna to help her out around here. You're great at that sorta thing. I mean, you're a badass out there, but I prefer to have you inside the walls. Away from the walkers. From the bad people. I want you safe. You know that,"

She bit her tongue to stop from arguing, and realized he was right.  
"Okay. Okay. But you know I want you safe too, right? So I expect you to be back here, still breathin' so we can use this bed s'more. And you look out for Beth. Please?"

"You worry too much," Glenn chuckled, though still feeling as if he was unsure about the upcoming run himself, "we're both gonna be fine. Being completely honest though, I'm still not really sure about Aiden and Nicholas,"

"Yeah, considering you nearly knocked out one of them last time you saw each other," Maggie snorted, "but you looked really hot doing it,"

"Ah, shut up. Anyway, I'll handle things. Right?"

"Right. Don't get too cocky now, you'll get a big head," she giggled, watching him walk over to the doorway with his destination being the bathroom, so he could freshen up.

"What? Sorry, can't hear you over my own ego!" the man joked back loudly, exiting the room.  
Maggie frowned again at his absence, soon finding herself buried in the warm sheets. He'd probably have to motivate her get up for the day when he returned, as he usually did, by jumping back into bed with her and kissing her crazily until Maggie was finally willing to get dressed. It was practically their morning routine.

  
•••

  
Beth wandered around the corner of the hallway, peeking into her sisters bedroom. No Glenn. Where was he? They'd have to get going for the run soon, and she needed to find him. After more searching, the blonde soon located him on the front porch of the house they all shared together. He was cleaning his gun on the steps.

"How long 'till we load up?" she asked the Korean, who jumped at her voice.

"Woah," Glenn laughed, quickly peering over his shoulder at her, "hey. You kinda snuck up on me. You Greene sisters do that a lot, don't you?"  
Beth smiled, then crouched down to observe his actions with a closer view.

"Sorry,"

"Nah, it's fine. But, um, I think we're gonna get ready in about five," he replied, pulling out the magazine from his gun.

"Cool piece," the girl said, leaning forward, "I like it,"

"Thanks... you know, Maggie's really worried about you. About today. How're you feeling about it?"

Beth squinted at the ground a moment, "I already told you. I really wanna prove myself in these types of situations, n' I don't wanna sit behind these gates and water flowers. This is the way I wanna contribute for us. Is that okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm completely fine with it. I'm just making sure you are," he said, piecing his pistol back together.

"Well, I am," she chuckled, making him look over to her with a smile.

Glenn stood up, fixing his holster onto his torso and pushing his gun inside, then paused.

"Beth," he began, "we... we really ought to spend some family time. Y'know, just  
sister-in-law to brother-in-law. I mean, we haven't really had much of a chance for that,"

"How about we think about this run as family time, then? Y'know," she smirked, "sister-in-law to brother-in-law,"

The Korean laughed again, touching her shoulder and telling her to meet him and the rest of the run crew by the pantry. Beth agreed and happily walked off, feeling determined.  
It had been a little hard for her since Noah's death, and she'd had to deal with guilt. Although she never told anyone like her sister about it, the guilt was there. She felt that it should've been her. He should've found his family.  
Beth thought his blood was on her hands.

  
As time passed by, she found herself pulling Maggie close in a tight hug right as she was about to leave. It almost seemed as if Maggie didn't want to let go, which was probably the case, given Glenn's earlier statement about how concerned she was for her departure.

"You be safe. Please. I love you, okay?" Maggie breathed out as she pulled away, still grasping one of her wrists.

"I'll be alright. I'm ready. Love you," Beth said, kissing her cheek lightly and walking to the van.

Maggie swallowed hard as she watched her sister walk away, then glanced at her husband. Who, was being pestered by Tara and giggling like crazy. He finally shrugged her off and told her to get in the van, which was also emphasized by Nicholas. Aiden was saying goodbye to his parents, and when Maggie looked back she found her own husband coming towards her.

"All set?" she asked, finding his hand and holding it tightly.

"Mhm," Glenn said, wetting his lips and sighing.

"You got this. Always do," Maggie smiled to him and he winked at her.

"Yeah," was his response as he moved in for a kiss, which was short yet passionate.

Deanna stepped up to Glenn, and thanked him again for punching Aiden the last time they came back from going outside the walls.  
Even his own mother knew he was asking for it.  
Glenn just nodded to her and chuckled, then jumped into the back with Beth and Tara, when the radio started to blast a mix, causing Tara to facepalm and laugh like crazy.

The two, joined by Eugene and Beth at times (Eugene would mostly stay silent, and Beth had been writing in her journal), engaged themselves in a small conversation about the road ahead as they sat in the vehicle being driven to their destination.  
The goal was to find some specific equipment for the solar panels, which had been dangerously acting up. Alexandria was living off of the power they drew out from those panels, so it was especially necessary they be repaired immediately. Even though Rick's group had only been there a few days, they knew how important of a task it was. That's why they were sending out Glenn, who was practically a professional when it came to runs, as well as Beth and Tara. Aiden and Nicholas were going along without say, being the original runners for the community before the arrival of Rick and his people.

"This the place?" Beth asked as the van pulled into an empty parking lot.

"Yeah, this is it," Aiden mumbled back as the car came to a halt.

The six unloaded and equipped themselves, making sure to properly gear up. Glenn carefully watched Beth, just to give himself piece of mind. The day outside was sunny and nice, the temperature just a little cool. It was still early morning so the sun wasn't even halfway in the blue sky yet, but it was bright out nonetheless.

"Good to go?" Aiden asked, looking around at the rest of the group.

"We should check the place out, find all our ways in and out. Just in case this thing goes south," Glenn spoke up, shouldering his gun and keeping it ready in hand.

"Uh, it's called the front doors," Nicholas scoffed.  
Glenn shook it off, trying to ignore his carelessness and sighed, deciding to let the subject go. Suddenly however, a single walker stumbled into view not far away.

"I got it," Beth said quietly, raising her silenced handgun and taking out the corpse in one squeeze of her trigger.

"Nice shot," Aiden acknowledged her with a nod. Glenn flashed a tiny smile and agreed with the man, then turned his full attention to him as he spoke his next statement.

"Eh, maybe Glenn's right. Should do a perimeter check, to pinpoint all our escape routes. Just to be safe," he declared. It seemed as though he was beginning to finally touch base with Glenn on things by showing teamwork.  
For once, he thought.

"Yeah," Tara said, turning to walk alongside Eugene as they made their way down one side of the warehouse and leaving Beth with her brother-in-law to cover the other.  
She trotted up next to him and holstered her weapon, smelling something in the air that began to fill her nose. It was the scent of rotting flesh. It must've been coming from inside.

"That was a good shot," Glenn complimented her, "you've gotten better with your aim,"

"Well, shooting practice helps. I've kinda been wanting to take it up a notch and try my practice on Aiden," Beth remarked, causing them both to laugh.

"Me too. Me too,"

  
The crew rejoined and met up at the back of the building, with Glenn leading the way in front. He kicked open the door and hammered repeatedly on it once it swung open to see if he could attract any walkers that might've been inside, but getting nothing. He sensed Aiden growing impatient and assured him it was worth it to wait a little longer since it was a big place.  
They all slowly started to walk further and further into the darkness, guns and flashlights held up in front of them.

Glenn walked with Aiden down one of the aisles, while Beth went with Tara, and Eugene with Nicholas down the others.  
It was quiet between the two, until they all met back up at the end of the lanes.

"Shh," the Korean silenced his friends, "listen. They're stuck behind something,"

Aiden shuffled in his place a bit, then looked to Glenn, "How do you know?"

"I don't," he answered honestly, "but they're not here,"

Moving forward again, the six survivors kept a look out for any threats. Beth noticed again how the stench of rot was getting stronger and stronger.  
Eventually, they came to a fence, held together by rusted chains.  
Trapped behind it were walkers, snapping violently at the metal holding them back. The smell was definitely at its worst there.

"You know your shit," Aiden said.

"We've been out there a long time," Tara replied, "alright, Eugene. You're up,"

The man with the mullet followed Tara around to one of the aisles so the task could be accomplished and they could all return home. Glenn was squinting at boxes stacked upon boxes, trying to help identify the right things they needed to find, when he suddenly jumped at the voice of Beth from behind him.

"Got anythin'?"

"God," he shrieked, whipping around, "you gotta stop doing that!"

"Sorry. Again," she said, shrugging.

"It's fine. Again. And, um, no. You find what we're looking for?"

"That's kinda why I was askin' you," Beth chuckled, "I lost my flashlight so I can't see shit,"

"Here," he offered, holding out his, "you can use mine,"

"I'm okay. I don't want you to be the one bumping into walls everywhere you go,"

"If you say so,"

"Hey, guys? Jackpot," Tara called from the aisle over, shielding her eyes when Glenn pointed his flashlight directly in them through the shelf.

"Way to go, now let's grab 'em and leave," Beth said.

All of a sudden, a crash was heard causing Glenn and Beth to glance over through an opening in a shelf, where Aiden was.  
His weapon was pointed at a walker and he was getting ready to take it out.

"I'll handle this one," he said, shooting it and only hitting its chest.

Glenn just caught it, barely. One little detail.  
"Aiden, it has armor, let it get closer... it- Aiden! No! Don't shoot!"

The walker was a dead soldier. There was a grenade attached on the vest it was wearing.  
Right where Aiden was going to shoot it.

"Aid-!"

Boom.

The grenade went off, blasting everyone and knocking them off their feet. The explosion didn't seriously wound Glenn, Beth, or Nicholas, who'd all been in the same corridor, but smoke emitted throughout the space, making it harder to see.  
Glenn rose slowly from the ground, coughing, and automatically kneeled back down to Beth.

"Hey, Beth," he shook her shoulder, then moved his fingers to her neck where he felt for her pulse. She opened her eyes and grabbed his arm to pull herself up, nodding when he asked if she was okay.

"Eugene!" Glenn shouted, looking to his friend.

"T-T-Tara..." he stuttered out, pointing at the girl's body. Her head was pooling with blood, and she'd hit it severely with the impact.

"Damnit. That chain broke, walkers are coming. Eugene, one going your way, take it out," Glenn said.

Eugene lifted his gun and waited for it to approach him, but he'd waited for too long. Another walker made its way out from the shadows and attacked him, making Eugene yell out. Glenn leaped through boxes to yank off the dead body, Beth sending her knife into its skull as it hit the ground. After talking care of the second walker, he turned around when he heard Nicholas' cry.

"Oh, god,"

Aiden had been impaled through his chest by metal bars from the fence that'd been holding back the walkers, blood dripping from his mouth.

"He's dead. He's dead, Aiden's dead," the man said.

Glenn gulped, but gathered himself as he heard the loud groans growing closer. He breathed out, then leaned down and took Tara in his own arms.  
The remaining crew members followed him and took shelter inside a room, where the Korean set down the girl on a table. They took a towel from Nicholas' backpack to tie around her wound and debated on going out to get more supplies from Aiden's bag, when they heard the moans and screams.  
He was alive.

"Oh... oh my god... I thought he was dead," Nicholas said, appalled.

"It'll take at least three of us to get him off there. We got time?" Glenn wondered aloud looking around to his companions.

"She's bleeding fast," Eugene whimpered.

"Aright, then. You take her and you get out that back exit. Nicholas, you shoot the flare off further into the warehouse, to draw them away. Me, you, and Beth go get Aiden. And we leave. Simple?" Glenn asked, "okay. On three. One, two, three,"

With some struggle, he kicked open the door and through the roaming walkers, then looked to Nicholas as he shot the flare. The three took off towards Aiden, who was still stuck.

"Hey?" Glenn greeted the man in a calm and soothing tone, "we're gonna get you outta here. But you need to stay as quiet as possible, okay? We're just gonna pull,"

"Okay," Aiden breathed out hastily, desperately trying to stay positive despite the metal piercing through his chest.  
That pain shot through his body like a rocket when Glenn and Nicholas lifted with all their might, but the body didn't come off a bit.

"Guys," Beth warned, "they're getting closer,"

"No," Nicholas came away, shaking his head, "we're not gonna make it,"

"Look at me, alright?" Glenn said, holding Nicholas by his shoulder, "we will. We gotta be strong here. We're saving him. Come on,"

The two pulled and pulled, sending loud grunts and inhuman groans from Aiden's lips. He wasn't any closer to coming off.  
Nicholas leaned in to his dying friend and whispered an apology in his ear, before refusing to help any further and running off past Beth.

" _No!_ " Glenn shouted, then pulling more, determined not to give up.

He'd carry the grown man out of that building if he had to. He wouldn't leave him there, helpless, alone, and hurt. Aiden hadn't even gotten a chance to fully redeem himself yet. Glenn wanted to make up with him, he needed to save him.  
But that wasn't going to happen.

"No. No more. Glenn," Aiden murmured to him, "it was us. It was us. Before, with our group. It was us. We were the ones who panicked. Not them... now, just go!"

Glenn stared at him before Beth jerked him away by his shirt, taking it in her fist. The Korean couldn't even look back without being swarmed by walkers, so he just ran alongside her down a hallway, until they found themselves in the front. Nicholas was there, shooting and fighting off the incoming geeks. All three of them continued that action for moments, before escaping into the revolving doors at the entrance to the building. Glenn and Beth were in one section, horizontally across from Nicholas.

"Shit, I'm all out," Glenn swore angrily, looking to Beth.

"Me too," she growled, clenching her teeth as she pushed on the doors to keep the walkers from rotating them.

"You can't shoot through?" Nicholas questioned from the other side.

"No, you have the ammo!" Glenn shouted back, thinking to himself of their options.  
More time passed by, and suddenly there was music. Not just the walker noises, but music. It was the mix from the stereo.  
It was the van.

"Wo-hoo!" Glenn smiled.  
Eugene was driving the van past the entrance, drawing the walkers away with him.

"Yeah, Eugene!" Beth squealed.

"Alright," Glenn said, "I have a plan. You two, I want you to hold these doors steady. I'm gonna break the glass, then Nicholas, you can push out. Soon as that happens, we sprint for the van!"  
"See," he laughed, turning around, "this is great quality family time, right here. Don't you think, Beth?"

She grinned, "Yeah, definitely. We're gonna have to do this again,"  
He just laughed harder, forcing the butt of his gun into the glass. Glenn continued this multiple times, but the glass wouldn't even crack. It would, however, push back Nicholas' door, partially exposing him to the snarling walkers inside the lobby of the building. His heart jumped at the thought of being eaten alive, and he pushed back more. So much more, his foot could even fit through the door to the other side. The outside.

"Nicholas! Stay in here, just hold the doors steady," Glenn yelled, hitting the door again.  
Nicholas paid no mind to the man's words, thrusting his whole body forwards.  
If he could just squeeze out... he'd be safe.  
He could go home.

"Fucking- _NICHOLAS!_ " Glenn shouted at the top of his lungs, glaring at him as he jumped out.  
He'd moved his door closer to the outside, rotating the section that the other two were in closer to the inside of the warehouse.

Panic quickly filled Glenn's lungs, almost like water when you were drowning, when he looked to Beth.

"G-Glenn! Help! Glenn!" she screamed sharply, latching onto his wrist. He grabbed ahold of her arm, trying to grip it as tightly as he could manage.

"I gotcha," he grunted.

"Don't let go,"

"Beth, _I made a promise!_ Hold on, just- BETH!"

Glenn never took his eyes off of hers but he knew they'd gotten her leg.

" _No!_ "

And then more decayed hands reached for her frail, thin figure, and soon they'd dragged her past the door. The door closed.

Glenn was isolated from her now and she was dying, her body pressed against the glass and spurting with streams of dark blood. Her lips formed into an 'o' shape as she screamed, her mouth getting filled with her own blood. Beth's pretty blonde hair was no longer visible, it was all just red.  
In his hand, he limply held a piece of light blue fabric, the piece that had ripped from her shirt when she was stolen away from him by the walkers.  
The world around him was spinning. It was blurry and he couldn't really think straight but he knew he would be sitting there for some time. Glenn watched every part of it. He watched all her skin be torn, her face get ripped, and bit into. He didn't think he could ever erase that from his head.  
He sat, hunched up against the back of the door, just trying to catch his breath. At first that was all he felt. He felt his chest moving up and down so fast he didn't think it would ever stop. Until it did.

Nicholas. _Fucking Nicholas_.  
Glenn's vision was returning to normal, and he wiped his eyes, standing to his feet. He picked up his rifle with shaky hands, opened the door slowly, and stepped out in the sunshine.  
Then he ran as fast as he could to the van.

Nicholas was climbing into it, when Glenn threw him furiously to the ground.

He didn't say anything. His emotions were overflowing his body.  
Glenn picked up his gun and brought it down on Nicholas' head three times, then chucked it aside and got down to his knees.

"What kind of a self-absorbed monster are you? Huh?!" Glenn spat directly to his face, gripping his jaw with his hand, then punching his mouth as hard as he could.

"Glenn," Eugene tried to say from behind him.

"He was _your friend!_ She was _just a teenager!_ What the hell is wrong with you? Are you that much of a _dirty motherfucking coward!_ " he shouted, his voice sure to be going hoarse later from how much he was using it.

With two more fists full of anger and fury, Glenn pounded his skull back against the pavement. His hands found themselves wrapped around the man's throat and he started to squeeze.

"Glenn."

Hell. He couldn't do it.

Nicholas was unconscious, with a bloody eyebrow, lip, and forehead. Both his eyes were already swollen, and his nose was leaking with red liquid, too.

"H-" Glenn began to Eugene, stumbling up to his feet, "help me get him in the back,"

"B-Beth...?"

Glenn lifted his head and stared at Eugene, tears leaking from his eyes.

"He... he ran to me. He said I could stay here and die with my friends or... or I could get back in the van," Eugene said softly, "was gonna leave me here,"

" _Fucking coward_ ," the Korean whispered under his breath.

The two lifted Nicholas and laid him down in the back of the van next to Tara, then Glenn staggered to the drivers seat. His sight was getting blurrier by the minute, and as he hit the gas pedal, his tears had became heavier than they had been before. He finally pulled over the side of the road after only a few miles of driving and pressed his head to the steering wheel.

"Damnit," he mumbled to himself, throwing the door open and stepping out.  
He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it already but it just hit him, like a hard kick to his stomach.  
What was Maggie gonna say?

"God," Glenn cried, leaning up against the van, "you were _her sister._ And I was supposed to _be there f-for you_ and I was, I was supposed to _save you_. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I promised.  
_I promised_ ,"

He sobbed into his hands for minutes, finally pulling his arm up and pounding on the side of the van, over and over and over. He hit it until his hand was throbbing but Glenn punched it even more after that, and fell down to the concrete on all fours.

" _I promised!_ " the man repeated to himself. He let out a few stifled breaths, and began to hit the ground again. The rough gravel was cutting into his skin but he didn't care. Maybe the pain could take his mind off of the unbearable amount of guilt he was feeling. Or how he was going to lose the love of his life the second he drove back through that goddamn gate. The second she found out what he'd done.

"Glenn. We need to leave." Eugene suggested as two walking corpses emerged from the bushes on the side of the road.

He said nothing as he ran forwards, knocking into one, and kicked the other in the back, sending it to the ground. Glenn stomped on it relentlessly, not stopping until is rotted brains were splattered on his boot. In another swift movement, he stabbed the walker in the head behind him.  
If he was being completely honest with himself he knew he'd been thinking about not even putting up a fight and letting them take his life.  
But he didn't do that.  
Instead, Glenn walked to Eugene, who was standing by the front of the vehicle.

"Could you," he croaked, "could you drive from here? I... can't,"

"Get in. Sit down, and calm down. It wasn't your fault-"

"Don't even say that! Don't say it wasn't my fucking fault, don't lie to me! I know the truth, you do too! It was me, okay? You can't tell me otherwise!" Glenn exploded.

"Just get in, then," Eugene sighed.

  
The distance from the warehouse back to Alexandria wasn't very long. It was only an hour away, tops. Glenn didn't know. He couldn't keep track anyway. He was half awake, or at least it felt that way. The wind moved through his hair from his open window, but that was all he really observed from his surroundings. It was almost like a dream. Everything seemed like a dream.  
He would've given up anything for it to've been a dream.

Looking in the rearview mirror, he saw his tear stained cheeks, and tried to wipe them off as best he could. But he had blood on his hands. So he used his sleeve, and that reminded him of something.  
He had the piece of Beth's shirt tucked into his pants pocket. He could almost feel it, weighing him down like a heavy brick.

His hair was messy and greasy and filthy, as it usually was whenever he got back from runs. The difference was that Maggie would always run her fingers through it with soap in the shower, cleansing his scalp perfectly and lovingly. She loved washing his hair for him. And he loved that she loved it.  
But now, he had a hunch that wasn't going to happen. Not for a long time.

The worst thing was the feeling of the tires when they stopped moving. The sound of the gates and birds chirping as they entered Alexandria filled his ears. It was a place supposed to be filled with safety and comfort compared to the outside of the walls. But the people there were just as dangerous as the walkers.  
At least, Nicholas was.

Glenn wasn't moving, even as Eugene hopped out. His stomach felt weird. Sick. There was a feeling he had, a nervousness inside him. His body was still shaking, his heart was still beating a mile a minute, but he felt frozen all the same.  
Finally, he forced himself to move after facing the fact that he couldn't just sit there.  
So, he took a deep breath in and jumped out from his spot in the passengers seat. The world outside was beginning to darken, a few stars coming out even in the bright blue sky as the sun went down.

"Spencer! Get Rick, get your mom! Tell Pete to get ready, he's got patients!" Eugene called up to him in the nearby tower.

Glenn walked to the back of the vehicle, pulling Tara out and holding her in his arms.  
"I can take her," he said in a low voice and gesturing to Nicholas, "but we should just leave him here. He doesn't even need to be saved,"

With that, he shifted around his injured friend until he had a steady grip of her and began his way to the infirmary. His hands were pulsing with agony but he didn't stop, not until he hurried inside and laid her down on a bed with Pete's assistance.

"What happened?"

"An explosive went off, she fell from the blast and hit her head pretty bad. Hasn't waken up since," Glenn explained flatly.

"Let me just get her situated. Woah.. your hands, they look broken in about fifty different ways. So, sit down there," Pete said, gesturing to a chair in the front of the room near the door, "I can take a look at them for you after I help out your friend here,"

"Thank you," Glenn responded hoarsely, coughing a little with his words.  
He was losing his voice, most expected from all the shouting he'd been doing earlier.  
He felt like shouting again as he saw Spencer and Maggie bursting in the door, carrying Nicholas. Deanna and Rick followed close behind with Eugene, worry and panic written on their faces.

"Glenn, what the hell happened out there?" Rick asked, shocked.

"I-I... did... I did everything I could. Eugene too-too," Glenn stammered, drawing in short breaths.

"Where's Aiden? Beth?" Maggie asked.

"I'm so sorry," Glenn apologized, lip quivering, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, Maggie, I'm sorry. I did everything I could. I tried, I tried so hard,"

"They're... _she's dead?_ "

Glenn didn't say anything, only watched the expression on her face change from confusion to pain as her jaw dropped and her eyes had tears running down from them. He wasn't paying attention to Deanna or even Rick.  
Only her.

"I don't... yo-you... _t-told me,_ " she sobbed, holding her hands up to her chest.

"I know, Mags," he cried, "but I-"

"You _promised me,_ Glenn. You promised me you'd keep her safe, that's _exactly_ what you said to me," Maggie wailed out, her shoulders shaking dramatically with each choppy breath she took.  
He moved forwards slowly, reaching out to touch her hand, but she just slapped it away. Maggie hit his chest multiple times, even shoving him backwards.

"I tried, baby," he attempted to explain.

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't enough!"

" _I tried_! For you, for _her_!"

"It wasn't enough!" she yelled, her cries becoming quieter and her feelings turning to anger before she added, " _you're not,_ "

"What... what did you say? Maggie?" Glenn questioned her statement in a whimper, deep mocha colored eyes turning softer than his wife had ever seen them before.

  
" _You're not enough._ You're not, Glenn. You're not," she shook her head repeatedly, tears overcoming her again as she took one last look at his tired face, ragged, dirty clothes, and swollen red knuckles.

"Don't say that," he whispered desperately, trying not to lose her, "hey, don't-"

It was too late.

"I _believed_ in you, Glenn," she said.

Then she left. Her absence was anything but what Glenn wanted. He needed her. Probably more than he ever had in his life. But Maggie wasn't coming back.  
She didn't need him.

_What had he done?_

 

 


End file.
